# Southern Command (India)

Southern Command is a formation of the Indian Army, active since 1895. It has seen action during the integration of several Princely States into modern India, during the 1961 Indian liberation of Goa, and during the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistani Wars. Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth is the present Southern Army Commander.

## History
### Early history

The Presidency armies were abolished with effect from 1 April 1895 when the three Presidency armies became the Indian Army. The Indian Army was divided into four Commands (Bengal Command, Bombay Command, Madras Command and Punjab Command) each under a lieutenant general.
In 1908, the four commands were merged into two Armies (Northern Army and Southern Army): this system persisted until 1920 when the arrangement reverted to four commands again (Eastern Command, Northern Command, Southern Command and Western Command). In 1914, the Southern Army consisted of the 4th (Quetta) Division, the 5th (Mhow) Division, the 6th (Poona) Division, the 9th (Secunderabad) Division, and the Aden Brigade.

### Second World War

During the Second World War, Southern Command was reformed as Southern Army (equivalent to a corps) in April 1942. The formation reverted to the title Southern Command in November 1945.
Component divisions included:
* 19th Indian Infantry Division, April 1942 to July 1944
* 2nd British Infantry Division, June 1942 to April 1943, and then June 1945 to August 1945
* 70th British Infantry Division, July 1943 to October 1943
* 81st (West Africa) Division, March 1945 to August 1945
* 36th Infantry Division (British Army), June 1945 to August 1945
Component brigades included:
* 7th Armoured Brigade, June 1942 to September 1942
* British 6th Infantry Brigade, November 1942 to December 1942
* 150th Indian Infantry Brigade March 1944 to August 1945
* 26th Indian Infantry Brigade July 1944 to December 1944

### Post war

In August 1947, Southern Command had the Deccan, Madras and Bombay Areas (with HQs at Kamptee, Madras and Bombay). In 1947–48, Southern Command was largely responsible in getting Junagadh and Hyderabad to sign the instrument of accession to India. 1st Armoured Division did the actual incursion into Hyderabad. In 1961, the Indian annexation of Goa was conducted by 17th Infantry Division and 50th Parachute Brigade, under the operational control of Southern Command.
In 1965–66, two further divisions were raised within the command. After fighting broke out in the Rann of Kutch in April 1965, a hastily constituted force, named Kilo Force under Maj. Gen P. O. Dunn was formed to contain this attack. Kilo Force was later re-designated as 11 Infantry Division. In September 1965, the operational responsibility for the Barmer sector was given to Southern Command and entrusted to 11 Infantry Division. Delhi and Rajasthan Area, with its Advance Headquarters at Jodhpur, fought in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 under Western Command. On 3 November 1966, this formation was re-designated 12th Infantry Division, under Major General J.F.R. Jacob, and also placed under Southern Command.

## Structure

The command headquarters is located in Pune, Maharashtra. It consists of two corps and two military areas. The two areas are:- Maharashtra Goa and Gujarat Area (MG&G Area) and the Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala Area (ATNK&K Area) In 2005, the changes to its jurisdiction area were made when a new South Western Command was established.
Structure of Southern Command :
| Corps | Corps HQ | GOC of Corps (Corps Commander) | Assigned Units | Unit HQ |
| XII Corps (Konark Corps) | Jodhpur, Rajasthan | Lt Gen Mohit Malhotra | 11 Infantry Division | Ahmedabad, Gujarat |
| XII Corps (Konark Corps) | Jodhpur, Rajasthan | Lt Gen Mohit Malhotra | 12 RAPID Division | Jaisalmer, Rajasthan |
| XII Corps (Konark Corps) | Jodhpur, Rajasthan | Lt Gen Mohit Malhotra | 75 (Independent) Infantry Brigade | Bhuj, Gujarat |
| XII Corps (Konark Corps) | Jodhpur, Rajasthan | Lt Gen Mohit Malhotra | 4 (Independent) Armoured Brigade | Jaisalmer, Rajasthan |
| XII Corps (Konark Corps) | Jodhpur, Rajasthan | Lt Gen Mohit Malhotra | 340 (Independent) Mechanized Brigade | Ajmer, Rajasthan |
| XXI Corps (Sudarshan Chakra Corps) | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh | Lt Gen Prit Pal Singh | 54 Infantry Division | Secunderabad, Telangana |
| XXI Corps (Sudarshan Chakra Corps) | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh | Lt Gen Prit Pal Singh | 36 RAPID Division | Sagar, Madhya Pradesh |
| XXI Corps (Sudarshan Chakra Corps) | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh | Lt Gen Prit Pal Singh | 31 Armoured Division | Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh |
| XXI Corps (Sudarshan Chakra Corps) | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh | Lt Gen Prit Pal Singh | 41 Artillery Division | Pune, Maharashtra |
| XXI Corps (Sudarshan Chakra Corps) | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh | Lt Gen Prit Pal Singh | 475 Engineering Brigade | Nasirabad, Rajasthan |
| | | | Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa Area | Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| | | | Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala Area | Chennai, Tamil Nadu |
| | | | 617 (Independent) Air Defence Brigade | Pune, Maharashtra |

## Precursors (1907–1948)

Following is the List of precursors to the Southern Command and their commanders:

### Southern Command (1907–1908)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command :
| S.No | Name | Assumed office | Left office | Unit of Commission | References |
| 1 | General Sir Archibald Hunter KCB, DSO | June 1907 | October 1908 | 4th (King's Own Royal) Regiment of Foot | |

### Southern Army (1908–1920)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Army :
| S.No | Name | Assumed office | Left office | Unit of Commission |
| 1 | General Sir Edmund G. Barrow KCB | October 1908 | October 1912 | 102nd Regiment of Foot (Royal Madras Fusiliers) |
| 2 | General Sir John E. Nixon KCB | October 1912 | February 1915 | 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot |
| 3 | Lieutenant General Sir Robert I. Scallon KCB, KCIE, DSO | February 1915 | 1916 | 72nd (Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders) Regiment of Foot |
| 4 | Lieutenant General Sir Charles A. Anderson KCB, KCIE, AM | April 1917 | November 1919 | Royal Horse Artillery |
| 5 | Lieutenant General Sir William R. Marshall GCMG, KCB, KCSI | November 1919 | 1920 | Sherwood Foresters |

### Southern Command (1920–1942)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command :
| S.No | Name | Assumed office | Left office | Unit of Commission |
| 1 | Lieutenant General Sir William R. Marshall GCMG, KCB, KCSI | 1920 | December 1923 | Sherwood Foresters |
| 2 | Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Skeen KCIE, CB, CMG | December 1923 | March 1924 | King's Own Scottish Borderers |
| 3 | Lieutenant General Sir Harold B. Walker KCB, KCMG, DSO | March 1924 | March 1928 | Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry |
| 4 | General Sir William C. G. Heneker KCB, KCMG, DSO | March 1928 | March 1932 | Connaught Rangers |
| 5 | General Sir George D. Jeffreys KCB, KCVO, CMG | March 1932 | March 1936 | Grenadier Guards |
| 6 | Lieutenant General Sir Ivo L. B. Vesey KCB, KBE, CMG, DSO | March 1936 | October 1937 | Queen's Royal Regiment |
| 7 | General Sir John E. S. Brind KCB, KBE, CMG, DSO | October 1937 | March 1941 | Royal Artillery |
| 8 | Lieutenant General Thomas S. Riddell-Webster CB, DSO | March 1941 | October 1941 | Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) |
| 9 | General Sir Brodie Haig KCB, MC* | October 1941 | June 1942 | 24th Punjabis |

### Southern Army (1942–1945)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Army :
| S.No | Name | Assumed office | Left office | Unit of Commission | References |
| 1 | Lieutenant General Sir Noel M. de la P. Beresford-Peirse KCB, CB, DSO | June 1942 | March 1945 | Royal Artillery | |

## List of GOC-in-C of Southern Command (1945- present)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command :
| S.No | Name | Assumed office | Left office | Unit of Commission |
| 1 | Lieutenant General Rob Lockhart KCB, CIE, MC | April 1945 | 15 August 1947 | 51st Sikhs |
| 2 | Lieutenant General Eric Goddard CB, CIE, CBE, MVO, MC | 15 August 1947 | 1 May 1948 | 107th Pioneers |
| 3 | Lieutenant General Rajendrasinhji Jadeja DSO | 1 May 1948 | 14 January 1953 | 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) |
| 4 | Lieutenant General Satyawant M. Shrinagesh | 17 January 1953 | 14 May 1955 | 19th Hyderabad Regiment |
| 5 | Lieutenant General K. S. Thimayya DSO | 15 May 1955 | 14 September 1956 | 19th Hyderabad Regiment |
| 6 | Lieutenant General Pran Nath Thapar PVSM | 21 January 1957 | 24 May 1959 | 1st Punjab Regiment |
| 7 | Lieutenant General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri OBE | 25 May 1959 | 19 November 1962 | 7th Light Cavalry |
| 8 | Lieutenant General Lionel Protip Sen DSO | 10 May 1963 | 7 May 1965 | 10th Baluch Regiment |
| 9 | Lieutenant General Moti Sagar PVSM | 8 May 1965 | 3 July 1969 | 4th Gorkha Rifles |
| 10 | Lieutenant General Gopal Gurunath Bewoor PVSM | 4 July 1969 | 14 January 1973 | Dogra Regiment |
| 11 | Lieutenant General Sartaj Singh GM | 27 January 1973 | 31 July 1974 | Regiment of Artillery |
| 12 | Lieutenant General Om Prakash Malhotra PVSM | 1 August 1974 | 19 January 1977 | Regiment of Artillery |
| 13 | Lieutenant General A. M. Vohra PVSM | 20 January 1977 | 30 May 1979 | 3rd Gorkha Rifles |
| 14 | Lieutenant General A. N. Mathur PVSM | 31 May 1979 | 29 June 1980 | Corps of Signals |
| 15 | Lieutenant General Ram Dharam Dass Hira PVSM, MVC | 30 June 1980 | 31 August 1981 | 11th Gorkha Rifles |
| 16 | Lieutenant General Tirath Singh Oberoi PVSM, VrC | 1 September 1981 | 30 November 1984 | Parachute Regiment |
| 17 | Lieutenant General Ranjit Singh Dyal PVSM, MVC | 14 February 1985 | 30 November 1986 | Parachute Regiment |
| 18 | Lieutenant General Depinder Singh PVSM, VSM | 1 December 1986 | 29 November 1988 | 8th Gorkha Rifles |
| 19 | Lieutenant General A. K. Chatterjee PVSM, VSM | 1 March 1988 | 31 May 1990 | Sikh Light Infantry |
| 20 | Lieutenant General Bipin Chandra Joshi PVSM, AVSM | 1 June 1990 | 14 August 1992 | 64 Cavalry |
| 21 | Lieutenant General A. S. Kalkat SYSM, PVSM, AVSM, VSM | 15 August 1992 | 31 December 1993 | 8th Gorkha Rifles |
| 22 | Lieutenant General Moti Dar PVSM, AVSM | 1 January 1994 | 16 July 1995 | 17th Horse (Poona Horse) |
| 23 | Lieutenant General Ved Prakash Malik PVSM, AVSM | 17 July 1995 | 31 August 1996 | Sikh Light Infantry |
| 24 | Lieutenant General H. M. Khanna PVSM, AVSM | 1 September 1996 | 3 January 1999 | Gorkha Rifles |
| 24 | Lieutenant General Sundararajan Padmanabhan PVSM, AVSM, VSM | 4 January 1999 | 30 September 2000 | Regiment of Artillery |
| 25 | Lieutenant General Nirmal Chander Vij PVSM, UYSM, AVSM | 1 October 2000 | 31 September 2001 | Dogra Regiment |
| 26 | Lieutenant General Gurbaksh Singh Sihota PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM | 9 October 2001 | 29 February 2004 | 7 Field Regiment |
| 27 | Lieutenant General Balraj Singh Takhar PVSM, AVSM | 1 March 2004 | 31 January 2006 | 17th Horse (Poona Horse) |
| 28 | Lieutenant General Aditya Singh PVSM, AVSM* | 1 March 2006 | 30 September 2007 | 9th Deccan Horse |
| 29 | Lieutenant General Noble Thamburaj PVSM, SM | 1 October 2007 | 31 December 2008 | Bombay Sappers |
| 30 | Lieutenant General Pradeep Khanna PVSM, AVSM | 1 January 2009 | 28 February 2011 | 20 Lancers |
| 31 | Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar Singh PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM | 1 March 2011 | 31 January 2013 | 7th Light Cavalry |
| 32 | Lieutenant General Ashok Singh PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM | 1 February 2013 | 31 December 2015 | Brigade of the Guards |
| 33 | Lieutenant General Bipin Rawat UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM | 1 January 2016 | 31 July 2016 | 11th Gorkha Rifles |
| 34 | Lieutenant General P. M. Hariz PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM | 1 September 2016 | 30 November 2017 | Mechanised Infantry |
| 35 | Lieutenant General Dewan Rabindranath Soni PVSM, VSM | 1 December 2017 | 1 October 2018 | Central India Horse |
| 36 | Lieutenant General Satinder Kumar Saini PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VSM | 1 October 2018 | 24 January 2020 | Jat Regiment |
| 37 | Lieutenant General Chandi Prasad Mohanty PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM | 30 January 2020 | 31 January 2021 | Rajput Regiment |
| 38 | Lieutenant General Jai Singh Nain PVSM, AVSM, SM | 1 February 2021 | 31 October 2022 | Dogra Regiment |
| 39 | Lieutenant General Ajai Kumar Singh PVSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM | 1 November 2022 | 30 June 2024 | 11th Gorkha Rifles |
| 40 | Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth AVSM | 1 July 2024 | Incumbent | 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) |